Those crazy Bad Beat stories are all over the internet. People losing 3-4 times in a row on a set… I know it happens, because it’s happened to me too. Losing on quads however, there’s something that could well and truly curb your appetite for online poker, for a good while to come.

Disgusted players leaving their tables, is the last thing poker rooms want to see. That’s exactly the reason why the bad beat jackpot has been invented. This way, the person who loses on quads (believe it or not, it can and it will happen to someone out there) might be way better off than the very guy who beats him on that hand.

How does it work? Party Poker runs special “Bad Beat” tables. You need to be playing at one of these tables to be eligible for the jackpot in case extreme bad luck decides to put up camp in your backyard. At these tables, PartyPoker will collect an additional 50 cents over the rake, in order to feed the progressive. Since there are about 100 Bad Beat tables, the jackpot is going to get $1,000 richer every hour.

As soon as a person shows down a 4-of-a-kind, which is 8s or better, money will literally start raining down his table. 70% of the jackpot will be distributed among active players (sit-outs do not qualify) 20% will seed the next jackpot, and 10% will go to PartyPoker. At least 4 people need to be taking part in the hand, and the above-mentioned 70% will be distributed like so: 50% of it goes to the loser, 25% to the winner (the guy with the straight flush or the higher quads) and 25% will be distributed among the other guys who took part in the lucky (or unlucky?) hand.

The BB jackpot is certainly not the only such generous promotion featured on Party. Starting with the 50-seat frenzy, all the way down to the Learn to Win promo, there are way too many of them to squeeze them in here.